Faerie Bubbles

General Info
Faerie Bubbles is a puzzle game that is similar to the classic game Puzzle Bobble. In each level, your objective is to clear the screen of bubbles by matching three or more bubbles of the same type. If you match four or more bubbles of the same type, it sets off a combo. The effect of the combo depends on the type of bubbles that were used to make the combo. The game consists of 20 levels total.

How to Play
At the start of each level, there will be bubbles of various types at the top of the screen. At the bottom there is a cannon from which you shoot bubbles up to the top. Use the arrow keys to aim the cannon, and use the space bar to fire a bubble. If you get three or more bubbles of the same type touching each other, they fall off the screen. However, after shooting a certain number of bubbles (the number differs from level to level), the ceiling falls one notch. You must clear the screen of bubbles before the ceiling reaches the bottom, or it's game over. Remember that by clicking the X in the top left corner, you can bring up an options menu where you can choose to restart, send your score, or turn the music on or off.

Scoring
You get points every time you make bubbles fall off the screen. Also, you get bonus points every time you finish a level. The bonus depends on how many shots it took you to finish the level- the less shots, the higher the bonus. You also get an extra 250 point bonus just for making it to the last level, regardless of whether you lose on the last level or complete it.

Bubble Types and Combos
Below is a table showing the effects of each type of combo, and the effects of the two special bubbles (nova and rainbow.)

Type of Bubble

Effect

Earth Bubble

An earth combo will cause a new line of bubbles to form at the top of the ceiling.

Dark Bubble

A dark combo will cause all the bubbles in the combo to change to random types instead of falling off the screen.

Air Bubble

An air combo will cause all empty space to the left and right of the combo to fill up with bubbles of random colors.

Light Bubble

A light combo will cause all bubbles touching it to turn to the same random color.

Water Bubble

A water combo will cause all water bubbles, even the ones not in the combo, to fall off the screen.

Fire Bubble

A fire combo will "burn up" all bubbles touching it except for water bubbles.

Rainbow Bubble

This bubble will change to the same type as whatever bubble it touches.

Nova Bubble

This bubble will destroy the bubbles in the area around it.

Tips
Bubbles will fall off the screen if they're not either touching the ceiling, or touching other bubbles that are touching the ceiling. This means if you eliminate bubbles at the top of the screen, you can cause bubbles below them to fall down along with them if they're no longer anchored to anything.

Inside your cannon, you can see the next two bubbles that you'll be getting. The only bubbles that will appear in your cannon will be of the same types that are already on the screen. That means if all you have on the screen are earth and fire bubbles, you'll only get earth and fire bubbles; you won't be getting air or anything else. However, if you just caused all the air bubbles to fall off the screen, one of the two bubbles in your cannon may already be an air bubble, even though now there are none left on the screen.

Always try to eliminate as many types of bubbles from the screen as you can. You'll be finishing the level more quickly if you've only got two types of bubbles left rather than three. This means it's often a good idea to shoot bubbles so that they're anchored only to other bubbles, and not the ceiling, and then to destroy the bubbles above them, so that all of them fall off the screen and you eliminate two types of bubbles at the same time. For instance, if all you've got on the screen are fire bubbles, but you've got a water bubble in your cannon, shoot the water bubble so that it's not anchored to the ceiling. This is especially useful when you're getting down to the end of the level and only have one or two types of bubbles left. Here is an example of what I mean:

Follow the line from the cannon to notice where the water bubble was shot. It's stuck in between the fire bubbles and the wall, and is not touching the ceiling. Now, when you eliminate the fire bubbles, the water bubble will fall down along with them. This saves you from having a water bubble left over on the screen, which might take a long time to clear if you keep getting fire bubbles instead or water bubbles.

This strategy is very important. You're going to want to use as often as you possibly can. It's the best way to finish the level in less shots and thus raise your score.

If you happen to get a nova bubble, try to shoot it right up to the ceiling so that it will eliminate bubbles that are touching the ceiling, thereby possibly also eliminating bubbles that were anchored below the bubbles that the nova bubble destroyed.

If you've got a "bad" combo on the screen, such as three earth bubbles touching each other, try to make a fire or light combo touching it, so that you can destroy or change those bubbles and avoid having to make an earth combo.

An air combo can often be very bad; however, if there is no space to the left or right of the air combo, or if the bubbles that will appear to the left and right have nothing to be anchored to, then an air combo is perfectly fine.

A light combo can actually be really bad, because there's a possibility that the bubbles touching it will change to earth, air, or dark, thereby forcing you to make a "bad" combo. Avoid making a light combo unless the bubbles surrounding it are already a "bad" combo and you're hoping to change it, or if there are less than 3 bubbles touching each other surrounding it, meaning that no matter what type they change to, you won't have to make a combo.

Take your time to aim your shots- the easiest way to mess up in this game is by shooting bubbles in the wrong place by accident. If you wan to be really careful, you can use a ruler to help you aim. Also remember that you can shoot bubbles at the side wall, which will cause them to ricochet at an angle up to the ceiling. Sometimes it's actually easier to get bubbles where you want them to go by bouncing them off the wall like this.

Remember to try to finish the level in as few shots as possible- the bonus for finishing the level quickly is where most of your points will come from in this game.

It's helpful to realize that every time you play, each individual level will have the same pattern of bubbles, but the types of those bubbles can change each time you play the game. Here's an example to illustrate this:

As you can see, the pattern is the same in the screen above and the screen below: In the top row, there are two bubbles of one type, then one bubble of another type, then three bubbles of the same type as the first two bubbles, etc. But in the top screen, you've got earth and water bubbles in the top row, whereas in the bottom screen, you've got fire and water. The pattern is the same, but the types of bubbles can be different.

Each level has a setup- as in, a certain bubble type combination- that seems to be the most commonly occurring. So usually you'll get the most common level, but sometimes you'll end up with different bubble types than usual.
This means that random chance can have a big effect- sometimes you'll get a type combination that is easy to clear quickly, and other times you'll get a type combination that is almost impossible to clear. If you get to a level and see that you've got a really bad type combination, it's usually best to restart the game if you're still on an early level.

Codes and when to use them
There are four codes you can use in the game. To activate them, simply type them while you are playing.

Type slumberberry at any time once per game, and the ceiling will go all the way back to the top.

Use this only when you absolutely have to, when you're about to be crushed by the ceiling. It's nice to be able to save it for later levels. By counting how many shots it takes to make the ceiling go down a notch, you can figure out when the ceiling will crush you and use this code at the last second.

Type stardust at any time once per game, and the next bubble will turn into a nova bubble.

It's recommended to use this right away on level 14. Otherwise this level can be very hard to pass.

Type bubbles at any time once per game, and all bubbles on the screen will change to the same random color.

It's strongly recommend to use this right away on level 15. Otherwise this level is almost impossible.

Type faerieland at any time once per game, and the next bubble will turn into a rainbow bubble.

Use this on level 15 right after you've used the bubbles code. That way you'll clear the entire level in one shot and get a big bonus.

Note: When you use the bubbles code, the bubbles can turn into any type...that means they can all turn rainbow or nova. Below is an example of this:

If this happens, simply use the faerieland code to get a rainbow bubble. The rainbow bubble will destroy all the bubbles on the screen.

Levels
Below is a strategy guide for all 20 levels of Faerie Bubbles. All screenshots will be of the most likely setup for each level.

Level 1

This is the most common setup for level one. However, I would actually recommend restarting level one until you get a type combination that's really easy to clear quickly. For instance, if you've got dark bubbles in place of those water bubbles, you can clear the level in only a few shots, because the fire combo will burn away the dark bubbles.

It does take quite a few restarts to get a really good setup, though. If you do decide to play the common setup, at least restart until you're not starting out with any light bubbles in your cannon. Having a third color in there will just make the level take way longer- it's better to be able to clear the middle row of fire bubbles first, which will cause the light bubbles below them to fall off the screen with them, and then you don't have to deal with any light bubblesfor the rest of the level.

Level 2

By making a water combo, you can clear the screen of all bubbles except the two light bubbles. If you get the "right" type of bubbles coming up in your cannon, you can clear this level really quickly.

If you've got something bad in place of those water bubbles, like air, dark, or earth, just restart; the level will take too long and it will hurt your score.

Level 3

This level shouldn't be too hard; just remember that you'll have to make a light combo, which will change the bubbles touching it to a different color. Again, if you get a really bad setup for this level, such as earth bubbles in place of those light bubbles, just restart.

Level 4

Here you're going to want to make a fire combo to get rid of those dark bubbles. So wait until you get a fire bubble, then shoot it to the left side of the fire bubble furthest to the right. Now you've got two fire bubbles in the middle, a space, and two more fire bubbles. Wait until you get another fire bubble and shoot it into the space- this will make a combo of five fire bubbles, burning up all the bubbles above it. Here is what it will look like:

Now all you've got left is the group of four bubbles on the left. Since you know these are the bubbles that will be left, work on eliminating them while you're waiting for your fire bubbles if you don't get them right away.

Level 5

If you get this setup, and then you get the "right" type of bubbles coming up in your cannon, you can clear this level before the ceiling goes down a notch and get a big bonus. It should be obvious what to do here.

If you get a bad setup- for instance, if you've got earth or air bubbles in the middle- and you don't want to restart, this is a good time to make use of the strategy where you use fire or light combos to get rid of bad combos.

Level 6

It should be obvious what to do here. This is one of those times when you can clear the level really quickly if you get the "right" bubbles coming up in your cannon, but finishing the level can take forever if you don't.

On this level especially you should use the strategy where, if you get bubbles of the "wrong" color, you shoot them at other bubbles instead of the ceiling. This is an example of what this strategy will look like in this level:

As you can see, the water bubble has been shot at the dark bubbles instead of the ceiling. Now, when you eliminate the dark bubbles, the water bubble will fall along with them. Just make sure not to shoot the water bubble in such a way that it blocks your access to the dark bubbles.

Level 7

This level is almost exactly the same as level 6, so use the same strategy.

Level 8

If you get a bad setup for this level, it's really, really easy to lose here.

You want to make the water combo first. Don't make the light combos first- that could change the water combos into something bad. So avoid making the light combos until after you've gotten a water bubble, which will eliminate all the water bubbles on the screen.

Then you want to work on making a fire combo to get rid of those dark bubbles. Shoot one fire bubble below the bottom dark bubble on the left, then another fire bubble below the bottom dark bubble on the right. Now you have two fire bubbles, a space, and one more fire bubble up on the side of the dark bubbles. Shoot another fire bubble into the space to make a fire combo, like this:

Now you have no more dark combos on the screen. Additionally, now that you've cleared out some dark bubbles, you've got access to those 3 fire bubbles near the top of the screen. You can shoot a fire bubble into the space between them and make another fire combo, like this:

Now you've only got a few bubbles left on the screen and the level will be easy to clear. If you don't want to wait for so many fire bubbles, another option is to make a light combo near the start of the level. Again, you'll need to wait for a water bubble before making any light combos. Before making your light combo, you also need to add some extra light bubbles, like this:

Two light bubbles have been added beneath the dark bubbles. Now you've got three light bubbles in a row, a space, and two more light bubbles. Just shoot another light bubble into the space, and you'll make a combo of six light bubbles. Now the light combo is touching enough of the dark bubbles that there will no longer be a dark combo on the screen. However, this is a riskier strategy than making a fire combo, since the light combo may turn the bubbles into something bad and you could end up with an air or earth combo on the screen.

Yet another option is to go ahead and make the dark combo and hope one of the dark bubbles changes to fire, which would make it easy to make a quick fire combo and destroy the surrounding bubbles.

Level 9

This isn't actually the most common setup for this level, but it doesn't really matter because no matter what setup you get, you're going to do the same thing.

For instance, in this case, you'll want to shoot the fire bubble straight up, which will eliminate the middle two fire bubbles. Then you'll also want to shoot the earth bubble straight up, because that will eliminate two of the earth bubbles in the top row. After that you could shoot a dark bubble straight up to eliminate one of the dark bubbles on the bottom row and the one in the middle of the top row. Remember that to shoot straight up, you can always hit the up arrow key to make sure your cannon is exactly centered before shooting.

After that, you can shoot either a dark or fire bubble between the two dark bubbles on the left or right, which will eliminate two of the dark bubbles on the bottom row or two of the fire bubbles on the top row, respectively. Just keep going like that, and remember the strategy of making bubbles fall by getting rid of the bubbles above them to which they're anchored.

Level 10

You want to make your water combo first. Don't make the earth combo, and do not get rid of any of your fire bubbles. If you get dark or earth bubbles in your cannon, shoot them into the corners. If you get fire bubbles, shoot them between the water and earth bubbles.

Once you've made your water combo, you'll have room to shoot a fire bubble up and make a fire combo, which will destroy two of the earth bubbles so that you won't have to make an earth combo. This is where you should shoot the fire bubble:

Notice how on the right, there is a fire bubble, a space, and then two more fire bubbles. Another fire bubble should be shot into this space to make the combo. Notice how on the left, the same combo is in the process of being made. The cannon pictured above is at the angle from which the fire bubble that completed the combo was shot. Do this on both sides, and you can get rid of all the bubbles on the screen and finish the level quickly.

Level 11

On this level, just try to avoid making "bad" combos by using fire or light combos to eliminate or change the bubbles in the "bad" combo. As for the four earth bubbles on the right, you can easily shoot a fire bubble right in between the bottom earth bubble and the bottom fire bubble, which will make a fire combo that will destroy two of the earth bubbles, meaning only two earth bubbles will be left and you won't have to make an earth combo. For the earth bubbles on the left, you could build up fire bubbles around them to eliminate them, or you could use the riskier strategy of making a light combo around them, since there are already light bubbles nearby.

Level 12

This is a level where it's actually perfectly fine to make an air combo. Since there will be no bubbles to the right or left of the combo that can anchor onto anything, all the bubbles will just fall down.

Dark combos aren't really bad here, either, unless the line of dark bubbles is the top row. If it's not, usually at least one of the bubbles in the dark combo will turn into the same type as the bubbles in the line above it, so you can then eliminate that line of bubbles, which will cause the entire line below it- the former dark bubbles- to fall down.

If you've got a line of water bubbles at the top, and below it you've got a line of earth bubbles, it's a good idea to just avoid making the earth combo and instead wait until you get four water bubbles with which to make a water combo, because that will cause all the water bubbles to fall down, which means the entire top line will fall, taking everything below with it and completing the level.

It's also nice to have a line of fire here, since that will burn up the entire line above it. If there is a line of earth, and you have any fire on the screen, you might want to use a fire combo to eliminate the earth combo.

Level 13

This level is similar to the last level, except that you've got a bubble of a different type in the middle of the top row. The different type of bubble in the top row doesn't really change your strategy; it just makes the level harder than the last since it means you've got to get rid of that bubble, and also make two combos instead of just one to get rid of the top row.

Level 14

I recommend using the stardust code at the very start of this level to get a nova bubble here. Shoot the nova bubble straight up. Then go on with eliminating the bubbles that are left.

Level 15

I strongly recommend typing the bubbles code at the very start of this level. This will change all the bubbles on the screen to the same color, allowing you to finish the level very quickly and get a big bonus. Immediately after using the bubbles code, you should then use the faerieland code. This will cause you to clear the level in one shot, giving you a large amount of bonus points.

This is another level where an air combo isn't a bad thing at all; if all the bubbles turn to air, making the combo will still eliminate all bubbles on the screen and finish the level. Below is a screen shot of all the bubbles on the screen falling at the same time after an air combo:

Just hope that the code doesn't cause the bubbles to turn to dark bubbles, because then it's worse than if you never used the code at all, since you have to wait around to get a dark bubble, and then all the bubbles turn back into random colors once you make the combo. If this happens, you may as well just restart, because the level will be almost impossible to pass, and even if you do pass it, your score is basically ruined since you won't be able to get the big bonus for clearing the level in one shot. Having the bubbles all turn to earth is also unlucky, but it's not the worst thing in the world; it just means you can't finish the level as quickly since the earth combo will leave you with a row of random bubbles at the top.

Level 16

This is a level where you definitely need to remember that bubbles that aren't anchored to anything will fall down. For instance, if you can get rid of the light bubble up in the left corner, and then you get rid of the air bubble on the left, that will cause the three bubbles in between them- the water, fire, and dark bubbles- to all fall down.

Using this strategy, this level can be finished quickly if you get the right bubbles in your cannon, or it can be a real nightmare if you don't.

Level 17

Again, remember that bubbles that aren't anchored to anything will fall down. Notice how there are some places where two bubbles of the same color are right across from each other. Shoot a bubble of the same color in between them, so that the bubbles beneath them will fall, like this:

In this case, the two fire bubbles are about to fall down along with the light bubbles. Next you could shoot an earth bubble in between the earth bubble to the right and the earth bubble in the middle, causing the two water bubbles below to fall.

Level 18

This is a level where you'll probably need to ricochet a bubble off of the wall. For instance, if you were to get an earth bubble, and you could ricochet it in such a way as to hit the two earth bubbles at the top, then all the bubbles below would fall down with them and you could finish the level in one shot. Or if you get a light bubble, you'd want to bounce the bubble off the wall so that it hits the three light bubbles, so that all you'd have left are the two bubbles in the top row.

If you've got a bubble that is the same type as either the top row, or the second row, this is the angle at which to put your cannon to shoot the bubble up there:

Notice that there's more space on the right side than there is on the left side, so you'll want to bounce your bubbles off of the right wall. Also notice that this is another time when it's not bad to make an air combo.

If you don't start out with a bubble that is the same color as the top two bubbles, and if you managed to pass level 14 without using the stardust code, this level is a good time to use it. You can shoot the nova bubble up next to the top two bubbles, which will make sure you finish the level in one shot and give you a large bonus.

Level 19

This level is basically just a mess of a lot of different types of bubbles. If you've made it this far in the game, you already understand the basic strategy, so just hope you get lucky with the bubbles that come up in your cannon. This is a level where it's really good if you still have the slumberberry code to use, because it can be a difficult level and you definitely want to make sure that you pass it and make it to level 20.

Level 20

This is the last level of the game. As you can see, this level is an even bigger mess of bubbles than the previous level. There's not much I can say about strategy for this level. But it doesn't really matter, because losing on this level actually gives you a bonus of 250 points. You get the same 250 point bonus whether you clear the level or lose on it, so how you do on the last level doesn't have much of an effect on your score. So the important thing is just to make it to level 20 so you can get the bonus.

You should be able to unlock the avatar when you have made it to level 20.